Michael David Droese (born August 20, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and special education teacher.
In the course of a confrontation with Lawler, Droese was struck in the head with his own can, one of the first instances of hardcore wrestling on WWF Monday Night Raw.
Despite entering at number 30, Droese failed to win the Royal Rumble, and was eliminated by Diesel and Kama.
On August 16 in Vienna, Austria, Droese defeated Ulf Herman to win the vacant CWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Then March 2, 1998, he returned to the WWF, losing to Quebcerer Pierre in a dark match on Monday Night Raw.
[13] Droese returned to the ring as he competed in Chikara’s Infinite Gauntlet match on May 11, 2019, throwing Fireman’s Carry Fray and Snapmare Matt over the top rope before submitting to Armbreaker Amir.
On April 8, 2023, Droese competed in a 40 man battle royal for Major League Wrestling won by Alex Kane.
[15] He began working as a special education teacher at Centertown Elementary School in McMinnville, Tennessee[1] where he has also been a strength coach.
[15] On September 13, 2013, Droese was indicted for three counts of delivery of a controlled substance, having sold oxycodone and buprenorphine to an undercover police informant in July 2013.